A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward those of other races, parties, classes, religions, cultures, regions or nations as to make him ruthless in his use of deceit or violence to attain his ends. The supreme god of a fascist, to which his ends are directed, may be money or power; may be a race or a class; may be a military, clique or an economic group; or may be a culture, religion, or a political party. – Henry A. Wallace

“I’m not giving to charity this year!” one hedge-fund analyst shouts into the phone, when I ask about Obama’s planned tax increases. “When people ask me for money, I tell them, ‘If you want me to give you money, send a letter to my senator asking for my taxes to be lowered.’ I feel so much less generous right now.

Oh, poor BABY! Its well past time to pay your fair share. Man up and quit whining!

Sadly, what was forgotten amid the Bush-era hubris was that America’s edge always has been as much moral and economic as military. Officially sanctioned torture, the Abu Ghraib scandal, US invasion of a sovereign country without provocation, along with foolishly allowing radical Islamists to successfully portray the US as the enemy of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims, shattered whatever moral edge America enjoyed before 2003.

After a week of high-profile public relations victories, the red-shirted anti-government group and its leader and benefactor, exiled former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, were dealt an iron-fisted military defeat by the government they attempted to overthrow. Perhaps more important, the people of Bangkok have voted with their fists.

I hold no view about the efficacy of any faction’s positions. These are for Thai people to decide for themselves.

I will say that I admire Thai people so much for their willingness to take action to affect their future. Were Americans to have only one tenth the courage and determination.

The United States on Monday condemned violence by anti-government protesters in Thailand and urged Americans visiting Bangkok to exercise caution.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the United States is watching events "very closely" in Thailand, where two people died as anti-government protesters battled soldiers and Bangkok residents.

The United States condemns "this unacceptable violence by the protesters," Wood told reporters.

He said the United States urged the "protesters and their leaders to foreswear additional… use of violence, to exercise their right to assembly, but… to do so… peacefully."

Wood said he believed the US embassy in Bangkok was in contact with Thai authorities.

"Our desire to see tensions reduced and for there not to be violence — that’s something that certainly the government of Thailand knows is the position of the United States," he said.

The State Department warned citizens visiting Thailand that "demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence."

"American citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations and to exercise caution anywhere in Bangkok," it said in a message to US travelers.

The Americans condemn?

Isn’t that rich!

Were this America the riot police covered head to toe in their robocop fascist pussy outfits would have murdered hundreds of protesters and innocents and would have blown up at least one of the CNG trucks parked next to a block of flats in an effort to turn public opinion against the protesters. All of Bangkok would be in lockdown and a much larger threat to democracy would be prowling the streets looking for targets of opportunity otherwise known as citizens!

The peak oil shock that is coming will affect the United States more dramatically than any other country. Are you prepared for $5.00 a gallon gasoline? We are 20 years too late to stop this from happening. The American way of kicking all tough issues down the road is about to kick us in the ass, and no one is preparing Americans for the result. Happy talk and confidence-building exercises will not solve the problem. We are not in control of our destiny. Our supply is drying up. More drilling will not work. Higher fuel efficiency standards will not work. Congressmen and TV pundits will posture, expound, skewer oil executives on TV, and get red in the face, but they have failed the American public again. The social upheaval that could occur from fuel shortages and outrageous prices will be ugly. Most Americans live in suburbs far from work. Our food supply requires trucks to deliver to our stores.

The rally in stocks, the financials in particular, could go on for another month or two. In the meantime, banks are striving desperately to avoid calling in more bad loans — especially in commercial real estate, malls, strip malls, Big Box power centers — because they don’t want any more losses on their balance sheets. That can only go on for so long, too. Sooner or later the daisy chain of credibility in the fundamental transactions of business lose legitimacy and something’s got to give.

My guess is it will first take the form, sometime after Memorial Day (but maybe sooner) of wholesale liquidations of everything under the North American sun: companies, households, chattels, US Treasury paper of all kinds, and, of course, the S & P 500. We’ll soon find out whether an organism the size of the United States can run an economy based on one family selling the contents of its garage to the family next door. My guess is that this type of economy won’t support the standards of living previously enjoyed in places like Dallas and Minneapolis.

The socio-political fallout from the inherent anger and disappointment in all this is liable to be severe. The public is already warming up for it, with cheerleaders such as Glen Beck on Fox TV News calling for the formation of militias, and gun sales moving out-of-sight.